Karawari Cave Arts -KCAF

31/08/2026

31/08/2026

WARNING! Big foreign own companies, donors and politicians see our Kastom Giraun as a resource to exploit for profit. Working together, they come up with legal tools which are promoted as 'development'. However, these are designed to take away our control over our Kastom Giraun.

At the end, we lose. We are left landless and lifeless. Be careful what you are told, what you promised. Every word they say is full sweet promises. History has taught that all these promised developments do not happen instead we are left with eternal social and environmental scars to tell our generation- sadly.

15/08/2026

📍Karawari Cave Arts Fund – This short video is from the 2024 Field Engagement.

As part of our ongoing field program, the Karawari Cave Arts Fund team conducted information sessions, cave visits, and field equipment demonstrations with community members and local field assistants.
These activities are designed to: ✅ Strengthen community participation in cultural heritage conservation. ✅ Demonstrate the safe and proper use of field equipment. ✅ Document caves and cultural sites for research and conservation. ✅ Share knowledge between researchers, traditional landowners, and local communities.
The success of this work was made possible through the support and active participation of our community leaders, cave custodians, youth, and local field assistants. Together, we are protecting Karawari's unique cultural heritage for future generations.
Every cave has a story. Every community is a guardian of that story.

24/07/2026

Kastom Giraun is the glue that holds our communities, families, clans and tribes together. It strengthens and binds us together.

IT IS NOT A COMMODITY FOR SALE!

24/07/2026

ACT NOW!
Heartfelt Thank You to ACT NOW! PNG
The Karawari Cave Arts Fund (KCAF) would like to express our sincere gratitude to ACT NOW! PNG for generously providing 400 copies of the custom Giraun booklet.
These valuable information booklets will play an important role in our community awareness activities throughout the Karawari region. They will help educate communities about the potential impacts and threats of large-scale logging and mining, while encouraging the protection of our forests, rivers, caves, cultural heritage, and traditional way of life.
Partnerships like this strengthen our efforts to empower communities with knowledge so they can make informed decisions about the future of their land and resources.
Thank you, ACT NOW! PNG, for your generous support and for standing with us in promoting environmental conservation and community awareness.

Link: https://www.facebook.com/share/1HZDHjrosF/
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1641306494707737&id=100064852051276&mibextid=CDWPTG

04/02/2026

KCAF is seeking a Community Engagement Officer to join our team.

Refer to advertisement below for more information. Applications close on the 1st of March, 2026.

Email applications to [email protected] or [email protected]

Applications can also be mailed to The ADMIN MANAGER, Karawari Cave Arts Fund, P.O Box 404, Madang, PNG

11/07/2025

On behalf of the Karawari Cave Arts Fund, we extend our deepest gratitude to New Guinea Binatang Research for graciously hosting a recent conservation training and inviting two of our dedicated staff members to participate.

This generous opportunity has not only deepened our team's understanding of ecological stewardship but has also strengthened the bridge between scientific research and cultural preservation in the remote regions of the Karawari. Your commitment to nurturing partnerships rooted in respect, knowledge-sharing, and sustainable futures resonates strongly with our mission to empower local communities through arts, heritage, and environmental consciousness.

Thank you for believing in collaborative capacity building and for creating space for our voices and visions in the conservation dialogue. We look forward to future partnerships that celebrate biodiversity and the unique cultural tapestry of Papua New Guinea.

With sincere appreciation,
Karawari Cave Arts Fund.

🌿✨ 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝟗! 😊

From June 19 to July 9, the New Guinea Binatang Research Center hosted its latest Community Conservation Training at Nagada Harbour, Madang — empowering 20 local community leaders, including 5 inspiring women, with practical skills to protect PNG’s forests, biodiversity, and communities.

Participants came from some of PNG’s most precious conservation areas — 𝑻𝒆𝒏𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒆, 𝑴𝒕 𝑾𝒊𝒍𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒎, 𝑲𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒊, 𝑴𝒂𝒖𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂, 𝑴𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒔, 𝑴𝒕 𝑩𝒂𝒍𝒃𝒊 & 𝑲𝒖𝒏𝒖𝒂 — bringing home local wisdom and a big commitment to safeguard nature for the future.

Over three weeks, they tackled rainforest ecology, biodiversity monitoring, plant and insect surveys, boundary mapping with GPS & drones, and visited the iconic Balek Wildlife Sanctuary — seeing how local communities can protect forests from threats like logging.

A highlight: a special day on Gender Equality, Disability & Social Inclusion (GEDSI), where a specialist led lively group work and honest discussions on why inclusion makes conservation stronger for everyone.

This training comes at a critical time as PNG steps up climate action and community-led forest protection, supported by the 𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑𝒔 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝑮𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒎𝒆. 💚🌏

As participants head home, they carry skills, maps, fresh ideas and strong networks — proving local leadership is at the heart of real conservation.

𝑻𝒐𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓, 𝒘𝒆’𝒓𝒆 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒔, 𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆!

Follow our page for more intriguing stories and pictures from this training.

03/02/2025

World Wetlands Day 2025

According to the United Nations Annual Calander, 2nd February is annually commemorated as the World Wetlands Day. This year’s theme centered on “Protecting Wetlands for Our Common Future”, which emphasizes on the urgency of actions towards the protection and sustenance of wetlands around the world. Wetlands include rivers, lakes, floodplains, peatlands, marshes and swamps. These geographical features are significant contributors towards natural human habitats, culture, biodiversity, freshwater supply, food security and eco-tourism.

Karawari Cave Arts Fund (KCAF), focuses on indigenous anthropology and cultural survival and works in engagement with several communities of the Karawari Tributary of the massive Sepik River. While our aim is towards exploring and conserving one of the largest cave complexities of the world, we also acknowledge the geography of the area and how the Sepik River and its tributaries shape the livelihood of the people. Through its field engagements and partnerships, KCAF field team was able to spread conservation awareness to villages in the Arafundi, Karawari, Bokopmeri and Blackwara census divisions of the Karawari. The organization, through its partnership with Partners in Melanesia Inc. and Binatang Research Centre was also able to successfully complete a Forest Inventory Reconnaissance Survey Report in 2015 and a Biodiversity Survey in 2023. These surveys documented very interesting findings and also highlighted the geography of the area, its profound importance and threats associated with large-scale degradation activities.

In relation to this years World Wetland Day theme ‘ Protecting Wetlands for Our Common Future’ , in the 2023, Biodiversity Survey Report, the Binatang Research Centre, in reference to threats of large-scale degradation in Karawari and its potential effects, the report highlighted that large-scale degradation of the area ‘will result in the decline of the delicately interlaced biodiversity of this rich and scientifically unexplored area and may pose a threat to downstream communities, and ultimately, the longest river in PNG and its increasingly fragile status as the largest uncontaminated freshwater system in Asia-Pacific’.

Happy World Water Day 2025_ “Protecting Wetlands for Our Common Future”.

16/09/2024

As Papua New Guinea Celebrates its 49th Independence Day today, we at KCAF also Remember the life and Legacy of the Late Dr Nancy Sullivan. The Late Nancy's Birthday coincides with Papua New Guinea's Independence Day

Apart from her consultancy firm NSA engaged in Anthropological and Social Research in respective areas of PNG, she is also founder of KCAF . The Late Dr Nancy Sullivan spent the last decade of her life working with clan groups in project communities doing cave research to document and preserve the extensive ancient caves of Karawari .

The late Dr Nancy is survived by her adopted son Chris Dominic with the KCAF team continuing her legacy today as they continue to conduct research , document and work towards preserving these extensive caves and rich rainforest of Karawari.

Happy Birthday Dr Nancy and Happy Independence Papua New Guinea🎉🇵🇬

Credits Daily Mail for the picture.

09/08/2024

International Day of Worlds Indigenous Peoples
-9th August

According to the United Nations, there are around 200 groups of Indigenous People currently living in voluntary isolation and initial contact. They reside in remote forests rich in natural resources in Bolivia, Brazil , Colombia, Equador, India, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea,Peru and Venezuela. These indigenous people strictly depend on their ecological environment and hold distinctive cultures relating to their environment. However, they are also under constant threat from external contact and destructive developmental activities.

In our work, KCAF as a local NGO in Papua New Guinea recognizes this significant link between the indigenous communities of Karawari and their environment. This has prompted our teams to work relentlessly in the areas of Cave Research and Community Engagement. Efforts under these components are towards recognizing and attaining the special measures required to protect their rights in preserving their cultural heritage and natural environment.

Happy International Day of the World's Indigenous People.

Seen below is our Stuff, our partner organization BRG and Community Partners during our 2024 Annual Reflection and Planning Workshop held in Yaramat (Yenitabak), Ward 16 of Karawari LLG, Angoram District.